Protecting the Economics of Ad-Supported Media with Brightcove Lift™

Defeating Ad Blockers & Improving the Consumer Experience.

For the last two months, the press has been talking nonstop about the rise of ad blockers and the adverse impact their usage is having on ad-supported media’s revenue streams. Every advertiser, agency, and publisher is engaged in intense conversations about the subject. It’s not surprising that this is the case -- ad blockers are a BIG problem for the publishing industry.

Most media companies are familiar with the August 2015 study that reported nearly 200 million ad blocker users, and a growth rate of 41% year over year (monthly active ad blocker users). The same report estimated there will be nearly $22 billion in ad revenues lost by publishers due to ad blockers in 2015. While the report covered all online advertising, the pain of ad blocking is likely to be felt even more intensely by ad-supported video publishers due to the significantly higher CPMs garnered by video ads. The introduction of ad blocking on mobile, which was notably highlighted by Apple’s enablement of content blocking on iOS 9, is guaranteed to further exacerbate the problem for video content companies as mobile eclipses desktop as the platform of choice for media consumption.

There are strong arguments on both sides of the table. Proponents of ad blockers have taken up arms against the overreaching of the ad tech ecosystem, presenting ad blocking software as an effective means of protecting consumers from bad ads and advertising practices -- intrusive, unwanted, poorly designed creative that disrupts the consumer experience. Media companies, however, lament the fact that ad blockers take an “all or nothing” approach, blocking even good advertising often associated with premium content and thereby threatening the economic model of many ad-supported publishers. In fact, many media companies are highlighting the fact that blocking ads will eventually hurt the consumer. In a recent AdWeek article on ad blocking, Lisa Valentino, Chief Revenue Officer for Condé Nast Digital, said:

If we block every ad there is, there will be no content. That is a very dramatic position to take, but there’s some truth to that.

At Brightcove, we have always been focused on enabling our customers to provide their audiences with the most compelling video experiences -- experiences that delight viewers and engage them positively so as to enable media companies to monetize their content without compromising the individual user’s experience. Keeping that in mind, we’ve designed our market-leading player technology to emphasize performance (fast loading, fast time-to-first-frame) and flexibility (incredible, engaging experiences through HTML, CSS, and Javascript). Also, our server-side ad insertion technology has been at the forefront of ensuring that video content and ads are delivered in a seamless TV-like experience, regardless of the viewing device or platform.

Recognizing the need to support both content companies and their audiences, we are extremely excited to announce Brightcove Lift, our solution for enabling optimized ad experiences. Bringing together our core strengths in server-side ad insertion and player technology, Brightcove Lift enables media companies to circumvent ad blockers while delivering beautiful ad-supported video experiences to their audiences across desktop and mobile platforms.

Early users of Brightcove Lift have seen great results. Not only have they stemmed the tide of losses from ad blockers and ad delivery problems, they’ve also generated meaningful revenue lift. At Brightcove, we fervently believe this will help media companies continue to develop great content and great video experiences for their consumers.

With the rise of ad blocking projected to grow even more significantly in the year to come, we invite you to engage with us and test Brightcove Lift.